


Hurry Boy, She's Waiting There For You

by wabadabadaba



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Fluff, I'm tired of pretending like I know anything about Britain, I'm using my parents memory of a date night from 35 some odd years ago to write this, Nonbinary Character, Other, Pansexual Character, they are American in this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:14:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26166229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wabadabadaba/pseuds/wabadabadaba
Summary: Harry couldn't deny dancing to Africa however; the song is featured on almost all of her playlists and it always puts her in a good mood. Harry slid out of the booth and made sure her dress wasn't stuck to her legs before walking to the dance floor where there were around fifteen other people already dancing. Harry has never been a good dancer but the three glasses of champagne and the look in Zayn's eye had her feeling drunk enough to close her eyes and lift her arms in the air as she danced and twirled around.or the one where Zayn takes Harry out for a date and they get a little tipsy and dance to Africa.
Relationships: Zayn Malik/Harry Styles
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	Hurry Boy, She's Waiting There For You

**Author's Note:**

> This is loosely based off a date night my parents had when they were in college. While I was not even a thought in either of their brains, it is my favorite memory of theirs and I decided to make it my own and create this short little fic.
> 
> While I am a cisgender woman, I have gone through a period not knowing who I was and I played around with my gender expression. In the comforts of my relationship and with some family members I used different pronouns and went to therapy where I mostly cried and said "I don't know who I am" a whole lot until I figured it out. So I tried to pull from that experience in writing Harry as a nonbinary character. No two people's experiences are the same and I did my best to write an authentic experience for Harry in this.
> 
> Title from Africa by Toto 
> 
> wear a mask, register to vote, and black lives matter

_It's Going to Take a Lot to Drag Me Away From You_

Harry looked at herself in the mirror and wondered if it would be too much for date night with Zayn. It has only been the past year that Harry has explored her gender expression and while Zayn has been supportive, the last time Zayn saw her in a dress was when Harry put one on when she was drunk and she started crying from how she felt. Harry picked up the long, boho style dress from her favorite thrift store and hasn't had the nerve to wear it out in public. Harry was feeling good though, she got a promotion at work and Zayn was finally back from his work conference. 

Harry noticed a few strands of hair were out of place so she carefully pulled out the bobby pin and placed it in her hair again. Just as she was about to apply some lip gloss, there was a knock on the door that was undoubtedly Zayn. She slipped the gloss into her small clutch bag and went to answer the door. Harry instantly grinned and bit her bottom lip as she eyed Zayn up and down. His long black hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail and he was wearing a floral patterned dress shirt under his typical leather jacket and ripped black jeans. 

"Hi babe," Zayn spoke up. "I like the dress."

Harry blushed and looked down at her dress and twirled her hips a little before looking up at Zayn. "Thank you." Zayn smiled softly and put his hand on Harry's hip and kissed her softly. Harry let out a small whine when Zayn pulled away so she stepped forward to kiss him. "I'm going to put on lip gloss so I have to get all the kisses I can get," Harry explained. 

"Well in that case," Zayn put his free hand on Harry's neck and kissed her again. This time with more pressure and he wasted no time in swiping his tongue along Harry's bottom lip. Breathless, Harry stumbled backward as Zayn pressed their bodies closer together and pressed Harry back against their front door. Harry's grip on Zayn's waist tightened as Zayn nibbled on Harry's bottom lip and pulled away. "Okay," Zayn smiled. "Apply your lip gloss babe."

It took Harry a second for her to comprehend what Zayn told her and it wasn't until Zayn nudged her hip that Harry moved. Harry took the lip gloss out of her clutch and took her time applying it; she has watched countless make up videos on YouTube but she isn't anywhere near the makeup artists talent. She still has to go slow when applying any type of lip product but the end result is worth it. Her naturally raspberry colored lips look shiny, plump and kissable with the gloss. Once she was done, she took a deep breath and tried to steady her breathing; kissing Zayn and being worried about what she was going to confess, had her head swimmy and body trembling. 

"Gorgeous," Zayn easily complimented Harry. 

"Thank you," Harry smiled. "Uhm, I did want to talk to you about something before we left," Harry told him. "Uhm, it's like, it's not a big deal. I don't want it to be a big deal," Harry glanced at Zayn, worried he was growing impatient but Zayn was looking at her with love and adoration in his eyes. "She, her pronouns tonight."

"Okay," Zayn nodded. "Thank you for telling me. I love you."

Harry released the breath she had been holding. "I love you." 

During the drive to the restaurant, Harry turned in her seat so she could face Zayn more fully and asked all about his conference. There wasn't much to tell but Harry hung on every word, she has always loved hearing Zayn talk, it didn't matter what the subject was. When they got to the restaurant, Harry was beginning to feel nervous in her dress and knowing her pronouns were different. She didn't want the night to go badly and she didn't want Zayn to realize that he wasn’t prepared to be with Harry, in her confusion and questioning who she is. Zayn wrapped his arm around Harry's neck and gently brought her head to his where Zayn kissed her hair. 

"Take a deep breath, I've got you."

Harry did as Zayn requested and rolled her shoulders back and tried not to make herself smaller. When the couple were sat at a booth, overlooking downtown New Orleans, the waiter stopped by their table. Harry could tell he was confused by Harry and it caused her to squirm in her seat. 

"My name is Thomas and I'll be your waiter for the evening. What can I get you to drink?"

Before Harry could even open her mouth, Zayn spoke up. "My girlfriend and I will both have water and champagne. We're celebrating her promotion tonight."

The waiter turned towards Harry and smiled. "Congratulations ma'am, I'll be right back with those drinks."

"Thank you," Harry sighed as she reached across the table and took Zayn's hand in hers. "He looked confused."

"He did," Zayn agreed. "I know that you will be misgendered at some point, especially as you continue to figure it out but I'm going to do whatever I can to protect you."

"I love you," Harry smiled. There was a lot she could say, a lot that she wanted to say but her throat felt tight and she knew if she were to try and be as honest as she wanted, she would cry and she didn't want to do that. 

"I love you," Zayn brought Harry's ring clad hand up to his mouth so he could kiss her knuckles. "Now, I want you to tell me about your promotion. I especially want to hear what happened when David found out you got it over his sorry ass."

♡

"Zayn," Harry perked up and put her hand on the table and craned her head up to hear the song better. "Do you hear that?"

"No," Zayn furrowed his eyebrows. "What is it?"

Harry grinned and put her napkin on the table beside her nearly empty plate of dessert. "It's Africa by Toto."

Zayn groaned and slumped in the booth. "I know what you're thinking and no," Zayn shook his head. "We were in the middle of a serious topic."

They were, they were talking about moving in together and whether they should look to rent a house or a townhouse. Harry couldn't deny dancing to Africa however; the song is featured on almost all of her playlists and it always puts her in a good mood. Harry slid out of the booth and made sure her dress wasn't stuck to her legs before walking to the dance floor where there were around fifteen other people already dancing. Harry has never been a good dancer but the three glasses of champagne and the look in Zayn's eye had her feeling drunk enough to close her eyes and lift her arms in the air as she danced and twirled around. 

Zayn watched from the booth as Harry moved to the music. Typically Harry walked around with two left feet which meant dancing was quite often a disaster. Even now, Harry's movements were awkward and offbeat but Zayn couldn't take his eyes off of her. The way her arms twirled in the air and a few strands of hair fell from the braided bun made her look ethereal in the red tinted light on the dance floor. Zayn would have never guessed Harry, his Harry would be confident enough to be seen out in public in a dress and express to Zayn that preferred she, her pronouns. He still remembers the conversation when they got high for the first time that Harry expressed her discomfort in her body. It was a heavy conversation for the first time they got high together and while Harry was nearly shaking from nerves, Zayn listened. It took some more time for her to express those thoughts again, she cried and shifted around as if the emotional discomfort was becoming physical. Slowly Harry started to change her wardrobe; she wore more patterned shirts and didn't care it was labeled for women. 

The night Harry got drunk and put on a girl friend's dress and she cried and nearly tore it off of her, Zayn had never been so worried. It occurred to him that night that he didn't care what Harry wore or what Harry identified as, as long as she was happy and finally comfortable in her skin. From that moment Zayn encouraged her to the best of his abilities to wear more make-up, make more daring fashion choices and most of all, explore her identity. It was an easy transition for Zayn to use they, them pronouns for Harry. It made the most sense since Harry didn't quite feel like a man and didn't quite feel like a woman. The days that she preferred he, him pronouns and the next day she preferred she, her, those days were more confusing. Zayn has always known he was a male and while he tries his best to understand Harry, the flow of her preferred pronouns was difficult. Harry still doesn't have a label, she still can't decide which pronouns she prefers. Zayn doesn't care, he loves her all the same and he will love her on they, them days, he, him days and she, her days. He will love her if she realizes she is a male after all, he will love her if she realizes she is a woman or non-binary. Harry is Harry, questioning or not. She is still the most generous, quick witted, brave and gorgeous person Zayn knows and he doesn't know how he could love her even more. 

"Zayn," Harry called from the dance floor. "Come on babes!" 

Zayn shook his head as he slid out of the booth and walked up to Harry. She was dancing all around him and he didn’t quite know how to move with her; Zayn has never been a dancer and even drunk off his ass he still can't move. Harry didn't seem to care or need Zayn to really dance with her because she was using his body as she pleased. As the song faded away, Zayn wrapped his arms around Harry's waist and pulled her close and kissed her. She tasted like chocolate, champagne and Harry, Zayn's all time favorite flavor. 

"Let's get a house," he told her. "A townhouse is too small."

"Just two of us," she told him, tilting her head to the side. "For now," she grinned.

Zayn rolled his eyes. "Yes, I know you want a baby. But for now," he grinned. "We'll get a house and I'll buy you a cat and I'll get a dog. We'll have an open floor plan with a big kitchen, you'll need one big enough to cook and dance. We'll put your record player in it so you can dance to Africa whenever you want to."

Harry giggled and kissed Zayn. "We'll have to buy a house though, so the basement can be your studio. We'll have to make sure it has windows and good air circulation. Plus a big enough yard for your dog but I'm not picking up the poop."

Zayn laughed and rolled his eyes fondly. "And I'm not cleaning out the cat litter." 

"So we're doing this?" Harry grinned. "We're buying a house?"

"Yeah babe," Zayn smiled. "I love her," he kissed her cheek. "I love him," he kissed her other cheek. "I love them," he kissed her forehead. "I love you," Zayn kissed her lips gently. 

"Z," Harry breathed but she didn't know what to say, she didn't know how to properly thank and confess her love for him. "I love you so much. I can't wait to build a life with you. I can't wait to dance in our kitchen like it's a dance floor."

"Let's get out of here," Zayn smiled as he kissed her again. 

Harry nodded and accepted his hand as they walked back to their table so Zayn could pay and Harry could grab her clutch. They walked out of the restaurant hand in hand and when they got to Zayn's car, he pressed Harry against the car door and kissed her breathless. During the drive to Zayn's house, they held hands and sang along to the radio. When they got to Zayn's apartment, Harry set her clutch by the front door and slipped off her shoes. Harry could tell by the way Zayn was looking at her that he wanted her. Normally it would fill Harry's body with lust and pride that her boyfriend was so obvious with his want. Tonight was different, she felt comfortable in her dress and her makeup and heels but, she didn't quite feel comfortable in her own skin. The nagging thoughts of doubt made their way to the forefront of her mind. She began to worry that Zayn would be upset with her or that he would feel like she led him on. This could be the moment Zayn realizes Harry and all of her nuances and unfamiliar identity was too confusing, she wasn't worth it. 

"Babe," Zayn called out as he stood before her. "Are you alright?"

Harry accepted the glass of water he got for her and took a big gulp. "I uh," she began to say, her hands and her voice shaking. "I uhm, I don't want to do anything tonight, you know," she trailed off. 

Zayn's gaze softened as he walked up to her and caressed her cheek. "That's okay, you know I never expect anything."

"But we're celebrating and you look so good and you have been kissing me so deliberately. I don't want to let you down," Harry rushed out, her eyes filling up with tears. "If I was normal then you wouldn't have to deal with this. You wouldn’t have to be rejected just because I'm uncomfortable," Harry cried. 

"Whoa," Zayn whispered as he pulled Harry into a hug. "I don't want normal, I want you. Harry, I love you. I don't mind being rejected. It's more important to me that you're comfortable and you want to have sex than for us to do it and you don't really want it. I love you so much babe, and we're going through this together, yeah?" Zayn moved so he could rub his nose against hers. "I may not always understand but I'll listen and I'll be patient. You're my person, H."

Harry cried into Zayn's shoulder for a few more minutes until she finally calmed down. She pulled away from Zayn and softly kissed his lips before asking to change. Together they went to Zayn's room and changed into more comfortable clothes. Once Harry had taken off her makeup, she climbed into bed beside Zayn, who was opening his laptop.

"What are you doing?" She asked, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Figured we could look at house listings."

Harry grinned and kissed Zayn's cheek. "Can we get a house with a pool?"

Zayn snorted and shook his head. "You always have been a dreamer, huh?" He teased, pinching her hip. "No pool but I will get you a house with a huge bathroom with the right lighting for your makeup and a closet to fit all your clothes."

Harry giggled and sighed as she kissed his sunflower tattoo on his neck. "I love you so much, my sunflower."


End file.
